Feb. 12
12:46 pm JST

Feb. 12
02:28 pm JST

Who would have thought what happened in the Communist Bloc was possible up until the mid-eighties? The the Wall came down, and the sixteen republics snapped off, one by one. Anything is possible, and I think this is, too.

Feb. 12
02:48 pm JST

Kim Jong Un's forefathers have always said that a unified Korea is in the greatest interest of DPRK. Considering none of them managed to gain any momentum on this issue, I believe Kim Jong Un will be keen to mark a new era of Unification-prospect in North Korea.

After a meeting between South and North in 2002, the leader of South (Kim Dae Jung) expressed willingness to unify within a 15 year period, while the North Korean leader (Kim Jong Il) was more pessimistic with his unification within a 25-year period. But still, this marked the first time the North and South had actually reflected upon a possible reunification.

Only to be utterly destroyed by Bush's speech in 2006 where he claimed that North Korea had secretly built a nuclear arsenal. Indeed they had, but it made South Korea side with the U.S instead of their brothers and sisters in North. This created a situation where North felt betrayed by their family in South, and effectively abandoned any reunification-talks. Until now, with Kim Jong Un in power.

It just proves that North Korea has always been serious about reunification!

Now it's up to Japan, U.S, Russia and China, if they can keep their mouth shut until the Korean peninsula has been reunified!

Feb. 12
04:34 pm JST

Unified means one ruling administration. I don't ever see the KimJon regime ever stepping down to give power to the democratic south, just as the democratic south will never agree to the totalitarian rule of the north. Therefore, it will never happen.

Feb. 12
06:07 pm JST

I have a feeling a good chunk of people who voted no are non-Koreans who want to see Korea remain divided.

Probably the only third party country that truly cares much either way is China, and they may indeed have enough power and influence to prevent it. Among non-Koreans at large though, people who have malicious intent would be just as likely to want to watch South Korea having to handle reunification and its aftermath.

Reunification would be no picnic; it would be South Korea taking on the problems of the north, and very likely after a violent and sudden collapse. Which going by the look of this rather well-fed 34-year-old, could be quite soon:

It was difficult enough for West Germany in 1990 - this would, for a multitude of reasons, be far more challenging. A northern population that has lived through many years of privation, brainwashing, and paranoia, and that will have to come to a reckoning with a calamitous past, is no kind of gift to the south.

However South Koreans seem unanimous in wishing for unification as early as possible, so they're kind of welcome to it. Once they've eventually struggled through the difficulties, a multi-decade process, Korea will simply be a larger nation with a slightly expanded population. And no North Korea. Can't see too many people having an issue with that.

Feb. 13
01:58 am JST

The East German government collapsed. The USSR collapsed. They didn't wake up one morning and say 'We were wrong all these years!'. Kim isn't going anywhere and only wants a reunified Korea under his rule. If that's ok with everyone, then sure, it's possible.

Feb. 13
09:18 am JST

Feb. 13
09:45 am JST

Feb. 13
01:29 pm JST

The Kims are not going to be there for ever. Yet, the longer they go on, the more populations north and south become accustomed to the reality of northern and southern units of the Korean penninsula.

Moreover, as older people die off, a hardening of attitidues this way becomes entrenched. For instance younger peopele in the South reacting against Moon' s apparent rapprochement with the Kim regime on the occaion of the Olympics. Personally I think he had his political hands tied for a couple fo weeks, but by March it can be back to business as usual.

Feb. 13
08:53 pm JST

If the Koreas work it out that's always a possibility. Not saying it's high, there's a lot to overcome the least of which is a SK younger public that doesn't care about NK. SK would be wary of influx of NK's so do they want them all at once on a collapsing NK or kept where they are with more support? Could take years, decades, but what It would do is make Trump unhappy because he won't be able to nuke a nation in the middle of peace talks. The gun toting warmongering Americans will have to find another battle to wage instead of learning to be peaceful. Rather emblematic of transference

Feb. 13
11:57 pm JST

Unlikely. Reunification of the Peninsula under Kim regime rule is stipulated in North Korea's constitution. The Kim regime would have be willing (or forced) to give up the power and the NK constitution re-written. Without that, how could South Korea accept "reunification"? Comparisons to E/W Germany or the USSR where you had a collapse of one side are not of any use. This really is the crux of the issue, and Trump, China, etc are secondary to this obstacle.

Feb. 14
08:44 am JST

A peaceful reunited Korea and nuclear abandonment should be in the interest of the world, but sadly some prefer to have enemies.

I completely agree with you. And in a perfect world, that could happen.

But being realistic, it will not happen without Kim being forcibly removed. Who is going to to do that is anybody's guess, but that's the only way it will currently happen as Kim is not going to allow anything but his own rule over the two Koreas. I'd love for Kim to suddenly wake up and realize 'oh I've been a real jerk all these years' and step aside, but the odds of that happening are pretty low.

Feb. 14
07:09 pm JST

Comparisons to E/W Germany or the USSR where you had a collapse of one side are not of any use.

Perhaps not, but for a different reason than you suggest. At the time of their demise, and long preceding it, neither East Germany nor the USSR was in thrall to a personality cult. In the USSR, that came to an end with Stalin's death in 1953, after which he was discredited.

In North Korea, they suffer under the personality cult that started with Kim Il Sung, and which has been handed down from son to son, with a fairly obvious law of diminishing returns setting in. The current Kim stands a good chance of being deposed or bumped off at some point, and an equally good chance of pegging out in very early middle age, a victim of his "full figure". If there's no obvious successor from that family, that will be the turning point. It's essentially a weak regime that, to some, looks strong from the outside. No regime is ever as watertight as it seems.

Feb. 15
02:19 pm JST

Feb. 15
04:15 pm JST

Don’t expect Kim to accept any kind of unification except one on his own terms. Don’t expect the leader of a one-party state to relinquish any power. Expect the south to be looted and Kim’s gulag expanded.

A number of comments here reveal opinion based on wishful thinking and not reality. Thank God most Koreans of the south are smarter than that.